The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted its temporary ban on poultry imports from Turkey, Romania, and Argentina, citing the resolution of previous avian influenza outbreaks in these countries.
According to orders signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on October 10 and released Tuesday, the Philippines will now allow the entry of poultry products, including live birds, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen from Turkey and Argentina. Imports from Romania are limited to live birds.
The DA emphasized that the decision was based on official reports from veterinary authorities and a risk assessment by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), which deemed the risk of importing from the three countries as negligible. All imports remain subject to Philippine sanitary and phytosanitary regulations.
Meanwhile, the DA has imposed a temporary ban on imports of live cattle and buffalo, as well as related products like embryos, skin, and semen from Spain, following confirmed outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD). While rarely fatal, the disease can affect milk production and animal health.
Exempted from the ban are processed products such as pasteurized milk, skeletal meat, and salt-treated hides.
BAI data shows the Philippines has only imported chicken from Argentina this year, totaling 1.57 million kg or 0.5 percent of the country’s total poultry imports as of end-August. Spain, meanwhile, supplied 850,711 kg of beef, or 0.6 percent of total beef imports.
